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Our Club is Located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada

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Clare MacLeod

January 13, 2003

Balancing Democracy

There is a verse which says:
I used to think at 40 years
I'd be as wise as all my peers
But now that I have reached my age
I still am not so very sage.

Andy Rooney, of 60 minutes fame, wrote that there are many poor poets.
"They should have to be licensed", he said, " like electricians and auto mechanics."

There are also many poor speakers. If I had to be licensed, I probably wouldn't be speaking to you today which probably would be good for all of us.

A story is told of a tailor who took 20 days to make a pair of pants. The customer complained saying, "It took God only 6 days to make the world." "Yes", replied the tailor, " but look at the world and look at my pair of pants."

There are some problems in the world today due particularly to the views and practices of many people regarding democracy. Thirty five years ago I spoke to this club on the subject "Do we want to keep democracy?". I wished to provoke some thought regarding the public's perception of the democratic process.

Now, thirty five years later, a new generation is in charge of government and new citizens are carrying on duties in a democratic society. When I compare my concerns, perhaps not strangely, many still exist and some have even increased over the years as society has become more complex.

I have entitled my remarks today, "Balancing Democracy". Perhaps we should examine what we mean by democracy as our future depends on it functioning well. It has been described as the worst form of government except for all the other forms.
Democracy comprises legal practices such as elections, representative government, majority rule, a system of laws, trial by jury, a guarantee of many rights and freedoms and other aspects designed to do for people what they can't do for themselves or can't do as readily for themselves. Many democracies have expanded their rolefar beyond this primary purposeand sometimes to the public's detriment. Some democratic governments think they can do thaings better than people can.

We need to recognize however that democracy is also a philosophy and a way of life. It accepts the rational and humane values as ends and proposes the minimum of coercion and the maximum of voluntary assent as a means of achieving them. It provides for the adjustment of differences through discussion and compromise, as against that form that merely wipes out that side producing the differences. It includes copassion for those who, through no fault of their own, are disadvantaged in some manner.

A teacher was attempting to emphasize compassion and reminded her class that we are here to help others. A bright boy piped up and said, "What are the others here for?". He pointed out that we all have a responsibility.

Democracy, unlike many other forms of government, shows respect for minorities. Some people may claim that in attempting to do this, it has reduced the rights of the majority.

Very importantly, democracy also makes provision for individuals to reach their potential and to benefit for their efforts. We like the benefits which democracy provides, emphasixing them frequently and demanding more.

There is, however, another essential side to the functioning of democracy. It depends on the cooperation, character and contribution of each individual. Perhaps character is is the most important.. It has been said that character is like a rifle. It can't shoot higher than it is aimed.

Democracy is oriented to, and is dependent upon, the individual who must exercise self discipline, accept responsibilities, obey the laws, strive to contribute for his or her well being and to the general welfare. It recognizes the state as the servant of the people and not just their benefactor.
The benefits of democracy are not free but must be earned. Some people don't understand this. We don't seem to like this side of democracy as much as we do the benefits, nor are they kept in the forefront of our attention. This lack of responsibility is a major problem.

Unfortunately some factors interfere with the proper functioning of democracy. One is our parliamentary system which which has evolved in a manner not forseen by those who drafted the constitution.
Gradually, immense power has been concentrated in the office of the prime minister while parliament and the people have less influence in decision making and seemingly less interest.

The rise of special interest group politics is also becoming a problem. George Jonas in one of his columns writes,
The rise of interest groups - social, regional, racial, sexual - has reduced the art of government to an exercise in bribing sharks. It has become a development capable of bringing democracy to its knees.

We see another form of it in a plethora of pressure groups trying to exploit government organizations and businesses through class action suits in order to obtain unearned money. There are even class action suits against the present generation for the presumed misdeeds of our deceased ancestors.

individuals are suing bars for making them intoxicated, fast food restaurants for making them obese and tobacco companies for not telling them that tobacco causes cancer. What happened to personal responsibility?

Diane Francis made reference to this when she wrote,
What happened to Canada? When did a thrifty hard-working society turn into a selfish collection of pressure groups who craftily win concessions from spineless politicians at the expense of others?

Democracy requires accountability. Health, education and social programs are constantly in the public domain, yet governments are apparently unwilling to hold health providers and patients accountable for the services being necessary and the costs being reasonable.

In education and to some extent, social programs, the funds tend to be provided by one level of government but administrated by another. This leads inevitibly to partisian politics, lack of priorities, inefficiency and lack of accountability. Everything can seem to be essential if someone else is paying for it whaich is one of the weaknesses of democracy.

Rights and freedoms are very important in a democracy but not unlimited rights nor unlimited freedom because these lead to corruption, lack of moraality, poor judgement and a lessening of the freedom of others.

Democracy can't fulfill all of our wishes and dreams. People working responsibly determine the quality of life. Are we willingly becoming dependent citizens looking for handouts and false security from the government? Really, we are expecting others to pay.

History tells the story of civilizations that lost their purpose. Human progress ebbs and flows and history is littered with the bones of dead or diminished states.

In early times China, Egypt, Persia and other Eastern countries made a great contribution to civilization.l Athens seems to have been the first democracy in the world. The Greeks had a great civilization but eventually became inured with freedom, security and comfort and were overthrown by Persia. The Goths poured over the walls of Rome because it became corrupt. Countries like Spain, Portugal, France, Russia, Holland, and, of course, Britain all had their day in the sun. They failed to understand the requirements for successful living and their influence diminished.

Voltaire wrote,
"History is a parade of nations laboriously climbing the stair of civilization while passing other nations decending at an accelerating pace.
We had better learn from history.

Where does Canada stand? Are we ascending or descending? Our productivity is not very high. The corruption and wastefullness of government is worrisome. Alberta and Ontario are subsidizing the rest of the country. This is not a position that adds much comfort.

We all recognize that sharing and fairness are very important in a democracy but equality is not the main tenent, as some would have us believe, because it lacks incentives, fails to reward one's contribution and leads to mediocrity for everyone.

The parable of the talents in the Bible points out that rewards are dependent upon one's effort.

Thomas Paine made reference to this when he wrote,
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

Lack of support and effort leads of course to less productivity and a lower standard of living requiring higher taxes and debts to continue our dependency.
Peter Cooke, in the Globe and Mail, outlined the following taxes when he wrote,
The average family pays the following taxes in ascending order of importance: natural resources, automobiles, fuel, licenses, user fees, liquor, tobacco, amusement, excise, property, social security, P.S.T., G.S.T. and income.

Our willingness to depend on government is in direct contrast to what our ancestors fought against for hundreds of years.

In 1215, King John of England had supreme power. The knobles first, and then the common people fought for 700 years to gain some power and to get Reform Bills passed to permit citizens to have the right to vote.

It took a long time to make the state the servant of the people. Today we seem eager to reverse this process and make the state the master of the people.

Our demands have encouraged governments, in order to meet our whims and to obtain votes, to spend recklessly, borrow mindlessly, print money zealously, incur deficits alarmingly and debase our dollar precariously.

I have attempted to point out some of the weaknesses and inherent strengths of democracy. I strongly believe however that it is the best form of government yet developed. The eagerness of others to come here indicates that our Canadian form of democracy has much merit. It provides opportunity and compassion.

Any critical comments are intended to point out that democracy is not an easy form of government to make function successfully. Recognizing our weaknesses does'nt detract from our strengths but is a first step in making progress

Perhaps the essentials of democracy should be highlighted more and included in our educational programsfor our young people. At the risk of some repetition I should like to refer briefly to just a few:

The importance of the Individual:
The individual was once at the core of our political, religious and economic thought. Today our respect for individuality is being submerged by a passion for security and anonymity through a group. Yet it is largely the initiative, imagination and effort of individuals that determines our quality of life.
An Informed Citizenry:
We hear much at election time about getting out the vote and, of course, it is important for us to exercise our franchise. Democracy, however, is not a magic formula whereby wise government is voted into power by blind ignorance. The important factor is that people are informed and use their vote in our best interest.
Self Discipline:
There is a great divergence of opinion regarding discipline. Our parents followed the philosophy of the verse which says,
Our children are as good as gold,
and always do as they are told,
Psychology we've used for years,
then, too, we spanked their little rears.

Discipline is essential for us all and today it is not easily practiced. It is gradually being forbidden.

Walter Lippman reminded us when he said
In every society as in every person there must be discipline - imposed by the people themselves or by dictators. It is only in self-imposed discipline that freedom can exist.

One area where self-discipline is important is in our demands from government. The public keeps asking politicians "What have you done for me lately?" and the politicians ask "What can we promise them now?". Election time becomes a carnival of auction sales and promises. Beside it the Mad Hatter's Tea Party was a model of logic.
Freedom of Expression:
Many vocal groups express narrow, self-supporting views with which the majority of the population disagrees but they create a form of censorship through silence from those opposed, not by exchanging viewpoints, but rather by attacking dissenters with slurs of bigotry, racism and other epithets.
Thomas Sorvell, a professor at Stanford University, refers to this when he wrote,
Self-censorship creates one of the most serious situations any society can have by sealing ourselves off from inconvenient facts ... It produces people incapable of exercising judgement and ready to follow any pied-piper who plays a fashionable tune
Respect for Law and Order:
Many centuries of human misery show that once a society departs from the rule of law and people become a judge of whaich laws they will obey, only the strongest remain free. Groups because of numbers tend to become coercive and less law abiding frequently leading to violence. When groups are permitted to break laws whaich individuals are not permitted to break, then democracy is in peril.

At this point I am reminded of the advice of an old farmer, "When you are through pumpin, let go of the handle".

So in conclusion perhaps the following story has a point. A boy was interfering with his father who was trying to work so the father cut up a map of Canada in the form of a puzzle and asked the boy to put it together. In a very short time it was completed and the father inquired as to how he had finished it so quickly. "it was easy" replied the boy, " in the back is the picture of a man. I made the man right and Canada came right of itself."

So with democracy, it needs citizens with vision, values and venture. It needs governments whose policies are based on the general welfare and not in obtaining votes. It needs a strong opposition and it requires from time to time that the public ask that the powers that be are the powers that ought to be.

Then we may be able to say with Tennyson,
It is the land that freemen till,
That sober-suited freedom chose,
The land where girt with friends or foes,
A man may speak the thing he will,
A land of settled government,
A land of just and old renown,
Where freedom slowly broadens down,
From precedent to precedent.

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Last Revised:January 29, 2003